


At Least I Got You

by Carrot_Bunny



Series: MakoHaru Festival 2015 [19]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Animals, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-04
Updated: 2015-03-04
Packaged: 2018-03-16 06:54:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3478631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carrot_Bunny/pseuds/Carrot_Bunny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The cat turned and gave him the feline equivalent of a raised eyebrow. Then it nodded towards up ahead before taking off running, leaving the puppy to race after it." Written for the Official Makoharu Festival 2015 - it's posted on their Tumblr page now!</p>
            </blockquote>





	At Least I Got You

The streets were full of traffic. On the pavements, people streamed past rows of shops while neon lights shone overhead. The sounds of cars honking, music playing and people talking mingled together to form a symphony unique to a bustling metropolis.

The sandy-haired puppy wandered helplessly through all the organized chaos, overwhelmed by everything around him. Everywhere he turned there was a new sight, and different scents constantly wafted through his nostrils, yet he only wanted to see his comfy cushion in a corner of the kitchen, and smell the appetizing smells of dinner cooking on the stove. He’d only been exploring the interior of that truck parked in the driveway, yet when he was inside he’d heard a loud noise and felt the floor vibrating below him, then got thrown off his feet as the earth seemed to tip itself upside down. By the time the scary rocking had stopped, he’d poked his head out only to find himself in completely unfamiliar surroundings.

Now he turned left into an alley, hoping to have a small respite from the hustle and bustle outside. He sniffed around the dumpsters and trash cans before settling himself in a reasonably dry corner. He laid his chin on his front paws – then lifted it suddenly as he spotted something underneath the dumpster opposite him. He stared – and that something stared _back_.

“Arf!”

The pair of gleaming blue eyes only blinked lazily at his pathetic bark before disappearing entirely. Then they appeared again, only to grow bigger in size. And then, a cat emerged from the shadows, its fur dark as midnight.

“Arf!”

The cat did not deign to reply, but simply slinked away without a second glance. It was the only other living thing that did not tower over the puppy though, so without thinking he took off running after the cat down the alley.

They soon came face to face with a barbed wire fence. The cat shimmied through a hole in the fence, and after some difficulty the puppy managed to squeeze through as well. The cat turned to regard him disdainfully, as if to say  _Oh, you’re still here?_ , then jumped up onto a wall and down to the other side, disappearing out of sight.

“Auh?” No amount of whining brought the cat back however, so instead the puppy walked the length of the wall, looking for a way through. He final found an opening and scampered through, only to find a posse of rogueish stray felines hissing menacingly at a corner. He moved closer, and saw the black cat from before huddled in the corner, glaring defiantly at the strays yet with no way out.

“Arf! Arf! Arf!”

The strays turned to find a large ball of sandy fur bounding towards them at top speed while barking furiously. With yowls of fright they streaked away in all directions quick as lightning, and a second later there was only the puppy and the cat in the corner.

“Arf!” The puppy panted happily with his tongue lolling out at the cat, whose blue eyes were turned on him in suspicion. Then it flicked its ears and strolled away, but not without a backward glance that seemed to say  _Fine, you can tag along_.

As the sky darkened, the puppy trotted happily behind his new acquaintance, feeling a lot better than he had earlier in the day. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks as a loud rumbling came from his belly. The cat turned and gave him the feline equivalent of a raised eyebrow. Then it nodded towards up ahead before taking off running, leaving the puppy to race after it.

Soon the puppy’s nose detected a waft of something good cooking. The smells seemed to issue from a door that appeared to be the back entrance of a restaurant, for stacks of dirty plates in soapy sinks could be seen through the half-open door. The puppy peered curiously inside for a moment, then turned to see the cat jumping onto an overflowing trash can with a graceful leap. It nosed around in the garbage, then emerged with half a mackerel in its mouth.

“Arf?”

“Meow.” The cat tilted its head towards a pile of wooden crates next to the trash can. The puppy hesitated, then clambered onto the pile and leaped towards the trash can. He landed safely, but the momentum of his leap sent the trash can crashing towards the ground, spilling its contents everywhere. When he managed to dig his way out of the garbage, the cat was staring at him in a half-exasperated way.

“Auh,” he whined apologetically, but his attention was soon diverted by a half-eaten piece of steak. He tucked in excitedly, missing the cat’s purr of amusement before it turned back to its mackerel.

Suddenly the back door flew open and a man in clothes covered with grease charged out with a broom. “Shoo! Shoo! Stay away!” he roared, and both animals took to their heels in terror and bolted down the alley, leaving their half-eaten meal behind them.

Later, the two of them walked along the pavement, keeping close to the shopfronts so they would not be caught up in the heavy flow of pedestrians. When it began to rain, they sought shelter in a large cardboard box outside a boarded-up outlet. The puppy readily licked the cat dry, and after a pause the cat returned the favor.

Gradually, the downpour slowed to a trickle. It was as if the rain had washed away the noisy hubbub of the city, with the only remaining sound the soft pitter-patter of raindrops on the awning overhead. The puppy yawned once, twice, then curled up around the cat. He felt his new friend snuggle into his fur, and went to sleep with a contented feeling in his heart.

The next morning he opened his eyes to see a face peering at him from outside. He jolted awake, startling the cat as well. They both stared warily at the intruder.

“It’s okay. I’m here to help you.” Gentle hands lifted the puppy out of the box. “You’ve got a collar around your neck – that’ll make it easier to find your family. Don’t worry, you’ll be home before you know it.”

The puppy didn’t understand a word, but he knew it would be safe to trust this human. He did not want to leave his friend alone though. “Arf!” he barked as he scrambled to get down onto the ground, while the cat meowed insistently.

“Oh alright, you can come too.” And that was how they ended up in the back seat of someone’s car, huddled close to each other.

Hours later, they were approaching the house the puppy had lived in what seemed half a lifetime ago. He poked his head out of the car window, his ears flapping in the wind and the cat at his side. When the car finally stopped in front of the gate, he all but leapt out of the window in excitement.

“Mako-chan! You’re back!” His little master and mistress were there, and he ran straight into their open arms. As they embraced him tightly, saying how much they missed him, he glanced out of the corner of one eye and saw his friend hanging shyly at the edge of the group.

“Arf!”

It was then that his owners noticed the cat. “Aww, a kitty! Can we keep him too, Mama?”

“You want a cat for a pet as well? Alright then, but Ran, Ren, you two must be responsible for both of them and make sure they never come to any harm, understood?”

“Yes Mama! So what should we name him?”

“Neko-chan?”

“No, that’s too generic.”

“Aroo!”

“Mako-chan, is the kitty’s name ‘aroo’?”

“No, that’s stupid. I know! What about ‘Haru’?”

“Yeah! We’ll call you Haru-chan!” And they drew the surprised Haru into the group hug as well, their arms encircled tightly around both dark and light fur. Haru resisted at first, then slowly got used to it and started to purr.

Mako looked at him happily.  _Welcome to the family, Haru-chan!_

**Author's Note:**

> Not very shippy stuff, I know, but when I first saw this prompt the idea of stray animals popped up in my mind. Guess this counts as a pro-adoption for pets fic too - always happy to spread public service messages ;)


End file.
